A Deadly Obsession
by blindwithabloodstainedkimono
Summary: Abigael Winters is a bored teenage girl who just wants some excitement in her life. Her prayers are answered when she meets her idol, the Joker. But will she be in too deep when she realized that maybe this was the wrong kind of high she was looking for?
1. And here we go!

**_The Joker smiles at the camera, that wild, crooked, permanent smile of his. He shakes it up a bit before he laughs his trademark cackle. The screen suddenly is focused on a dead boy, Joker make-up on his cold face. The mad man speaks in a harsh whisper._**

**"I'm still here, Gotham. Alive and _kick_ing!"**

**_As he says the last word, he kicks the limp body, causing it to fall over and create a dull thud._**

**"Come and get mE, ho heee ha HaA hA..."**

I turn off the TV and go sit with my family at the dinner table. I begin to pick at my squash. I produce a loud sigh and I lean my head on my hand. My eyes search for the clock, it's only 6: 27. As I eat, I let my mind wander.

I am so fucking _bored _with. My. Life. Not that it's boring, it's pretty alright, steady, okay. According to mostly everyone in my high school. But not to me. I like excitement. There's none in my life at this point, it's all...mundane. I don't really like that.

At school...I'm just there. If I had it my way, I wouldn't even be wasting my life there. But of coarse my parents make me go--and the law of the land. The only reason I'm not sitting in the back of the room and just barely passing my classes (like the way I want to), is because I would disappoint my parents. Well, they'd get piss angry at me. And then kick me out. I may be lazy but I'm not ignorant.

As if I could survive in Gotham City without a home, family, and money. So I just have to get through my last 2 years at Jefferson's High. It's not so bad really, the work isn't hard. But it does anger me by how we're forced to learn idiotic things that will definitely not help us in the 'real world' whatsoever. Just so the adults can get rid of us for a few more years. It annoys me, the whole 'system'.

Some times I think, "What's the point?" We go through all this trouble just to live everyday in mock happiness. And then we pass it on to our children, this whole stupid cycle will never end, will it? Since we are born, we are thrust into this ridiculous cycle. First, we go to elementary school, which prepares us for middle school, which prepares us for high school, which prepares us for college, which prepares us for the world. But then all we have to do in society is get a job, find a spouse, get a nice house, and pop out a couple of rugrats. Then it continues onto them. We wait patiently for a few grandchildren, then we can die peacefully.

I will_ never_ do that.

I think life and society are stunningly flawed. But they do have a system and most of the people follow it's rules. I'd rather not. But of coarse I do, I don't want to get in trouble, do I? Nooo, that'd be bad. Sometimes I tell my parents, if not just to piss them off, that I'm going to quit school and become a hobo. I'm only half-joking when I say that. It would be interesting, challenging, fun. I've already decided that college is out of the question, I'm not going to completely waste my youth.

I've always wondered how it would be like to run away. I tried once, just for the heck of it, when I was 8. I packed my clothes and toys up in my Power Rangers backpack, put on a cool flowery denin hat, and went on my way. I didn't get very far. My parents thought it was adorable, they thought I was just playing dress-up. They took pictures. Finally, when they were done laughing, I walked out the front door. I was just about to get on the elevator of our apartment building, when they noticed that I was gone. Oh, I was for real about leaving. I haven't tried it since.

But they have threatened to kick me out, because I'm not perfect. Because I get 95's on tests and not 100's. Because I don't live up to my full potential, or their expectations. Because I don't exactly see eye to eye with them. I'm a good girl, I get good grades, and I listen, most of the time. I'm a better daughter than most in my school. But they say I'm ungrateful, that I was lucky to be born into such a nice family. That's when I want to shout that they're not the fucking greatest mother fuckers out there. That they've got flaws, too. That they're not perfect either. That they should be grateful to me, for not being like the other idiotic teenagers out there, who do drugs and have sex like some people breath. And they're rude too, which is annoying.

But I don't. And they forgive and forget. I don't, though, I always remember the mean words. But those are the bad fights. And I know that they love me and they're just trying to do what's best for me. But what's best for me isn't really what they have in mind. And deeeeep down, I love them, well, at least I can stand them.

Truthfully, I haven't been all that cheery and happy these...months. I'm not depressed, or at least I don't think I am. Not that anyone would notice. No, it's not because people don't like me and ignore me, nor is it because I have no friends, I actually do have a few close friends from school. It's because I don't show them that side of me. Why should I bother them with my troubles? In school and in public, I'm this nice, funny, charming, shy girl with no problems. But at home, I'm completely different. I'm still nice and sweet and whatever else I am, but I'm more relaxed, more mature, less hyper, more me. The me that doesn't try to have friends (because I truly couldn't care less).

I'm not a very happy person, but when I'm with them, this whole other person comes out. They make me happy, and I am very grateful to them for that. But the friends in school are...just that, friends that I have in school. I almost never hang out with them after it, that's why I have friends that don't go to my school, so I can hang out with them during the weekends. I did have a best friend. She's a senior now. She doesn't go my my school. I met her when I was 3. We've been like this ever since. But then she moved across the country a year ago. We haven't really been in contact since. She kinda broke my heart, not in the lesbo sense, but still, it hurts.

So I more or less dropped my friends from school. I got less active in our conversations and some of them completely stopping being friends with me. It was kind of a test, who would stick by my side after that, only a few stayed with me. But that's okay, I'd rather be alone these days anyway. You don't really have a lot of time to think to yourself when you're surrounded by babbling girls. I'd rather think than talk about gossip.

I used to be totally into sports, up until my freshman year. Tennis was my thing. I did it for fun, but my coach and family wanted me to go into competitions. I didn't like that very much. I don't like the way competition makes people, mean and wild. After my first official match (which I lost, by the way), I quit. Nobody could figure out why. My dad still comes up to me and asks if I would like to go play him, but I always deny. Unless he forces me... And my mom is mad at me for stopping. She says that I'm a quitter, and that I'll always be one. I'd have to agree on her with that one. I started any sport humanly imaginable, and I quit every single one. I also have dreams, that I usually follow. But before I begin training as a ninja, doctor, writer, ect., I find a new obsession. Eh, it's me.

The only thing that amuses me these days is TV. I'm not talking about reruns of Gilmore Girls, it's something much more real. It's more exciting than Fear Factor... it's the news. And particularly, the one man that stars in it every night. Well, two, but I'm talking about the crazy one, Gotham's Clown Prince of Crime. He keeps the whole city on its toes. He's just so...interesting...fascinating.

Oh, how I'd love to see him in action just once. I know it sounds crazy, but everytime I go to the bank with my mother or father, I secretly wish that he would make that grand entrace of his and rob the shit of the place. I am still made at myself for not saying hi to him the one time I saw him in the alleyways. Well, he was busy (carving some guy up, I suppose) so I think interrupting him would not have been such a smart idea. I'm freaking too shy when it comes to...celebrities.

I scarf down the last of my squash soup and excuse myself from the dinner table. It's almost 7 and the evening news will start soon. I drag my feet over to the balcony and slip outside into the brisk night air. My family is middle class, but we don't live in a house. Since we reside in the heart of Gotham City, where space is limited, we were forced to buy a semi-big apartment in one of Gotham's building complexes. We were lucky, ours is pretty nice looking and the neighborhood isn't that bad.

"Abigael; news is on." I whisk my head in the direction of my fathers voice.

"Coming!" I call back to him. He always gets a little worried if I stay out too long, even if its on our balcony that's 20 feet off the ground, making it almost impossible for some guy to come up and "snatch me away".

Then I realize what he just called me. Only adults and not-so-close relatives call me "Abigael", everyone else just sticks to "Abi". Every since I turned 16, a forth of a year ago, my father's insisted in calling me by my full name. It's really annoying. I keep telling him not to do it and he listens...for maybe half a week. Thank God I don't have a fucking middle name. And speaking of God, it also annoys me when people think I'm Jewish just because my name is Hebrew. Not that being Jewish is bad, it's just that I'm Atheist (or maybe I'm Agnostic? I'm still not 100% sure of my beliefs) and it's well...ignorant to assume.

"Dad, I told you to call me Abi. Say it with me now: Ah-beee," I retort as I come back inside and take a seat on the living room couch.

"Ha haa. You're so clever, _Abi_." My father is a tall man, and my mother a tall women. So how the fuck did I end up with my measly 4'11" stature? How the hell does that even happen? I got screwed over. My doctor said that I still have a chance to grow, but I don't believe her. Afterall, she was the one who told me that I'd be as tall as my mom by the time I was 15. Boy, was that a disappointing birthday.

I stare at my TV and see some dyed blonde with the whitest teeth I've ever seen, TV or not, reporting from the streets of Gotham. For a moment I think about maybe persuing a career like that, but I quickly change my mind. I am not good with meeting new people, and it would be just torture if I had to ask them questions about "what they've just witnessed". I turn my attention back to Barbie.

**"...on the scene with another victim. Sir, what happened?"**

**_A hobo with a raggedy beard appears on camera._**

**"Yeah, uh, I was just there, mindin' my own b'ness, when this...like, clown comes up to me all crazy like and starts ta talk ta me 'bout 'is scars. He den points a gun up at ma head and drags me into dis, uh, uh..."**

**_The reporter looks at him and then flashes an all knowing smils at the camera, as if sharing a joke with the whole world._**

**"The library, sir?"**

**_She finishes for him._**

_'I bet she thinks she's so smart_,' I note in my mind.

**_The man gives her a toothless smile in appreciation._**

**"Yeah, dat's it. And den he uses me a shield, or something like dat, and tells ev'one ta get dahn. All of dah peoples get dahn, o'course. He den asks dah main...uh, librarian ta, uh, gi' 'im all dah books. An' I'm sittin' here all confused, 'cause I dunno who in dere right minds would steal books. It mind boggles me."**

**_He shakes his head slowly. The reporter nods her head in agreement._**

**"Was the man alone?"**

**"Uh, yeah, he was alone. And he didn't hurt no body, either. He just took some books and left. Dat's all, ma'am."**

**"Thank you. And we're certainly glad nobody was hurt."**

**_She shakes the hobo's hand and turns back to the camera. The man lingers in the shot a little before unknown hands shoo him away._**

**"Well, there you have it, folks. The Joker just seems to get stranger and stranger with every heist. What's he planning to do with a few copies of classics? Is it some sort of new idea he's cooking up for the demise of Gotham? And will the notorious Batman be here to save us once again? More at 11. Back to you, Jeff."**

**_Barbie smiles at the camera until the shot cuts to a picture of the man of the hour, war paint and all. It then goes to a balding middle aged man._**

**"Thank you, Amy. In other news..."**

I turn off the TV for I have no interest in the "other news".

_'Hmm, the Joker wanted books. I think it's time to go check some out myself, I do have that report on the Cold War due next Monday afterall..._' I get up and go into the kitchen, where my mom is chopping carrots for her diet salad. She didn't hear the latest news so she shouldn't be suspicious of my sudden interest in school. Well, I do like to read so maybe not...Even though I know that we will not be there, I wanted to see what kind of books interest the coolest guy in Gotham.

"Mom, is it okay if I go to the library tomorrow? I need to check out some books for a project," I coo sweetly.

Her back's turned to me as she replies. "Of coarse it is, Abi. I'll go with you, though."

I scowl at the back of her head. Then I smile. "Duh." Who cares if she comes along?

Hopefully, tomorrow will be interesting.


	2. Breakdown

**AN: Thank you to *shuffles papers* uh...Dyanasty Artemis, ber1719, and XxHikaruCullenxX for reviewing my first chapter! You all have no idea how much it makes me happy when I get on my Yahoo and see alerts for reviews. I hope that I continue to get such great feedback in my later chapters. The pressure's ON. ^^' And these three awesome peoples also added me to their story alert...thingies. So, thank you once again!  
Oh, and another tub of thank yous go out to...*attempts to shuffle papers one more time, but to no avail. They all fall to the floor* no matter, I remembered these by heart! Heh heh...*covers ink stained arms* Yes, so stella tells and DefyGravityCC all favorited my little story, which means...you guys are beyond cool. I hope that I don't disappoint anyone in this chapter.  
****Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story other than the characters' I made up. I'm too lazy to write down their names, though...**

I was beyond excited this morning. Who would have thought that I would be going to the Gotham Public Library on a Saturday? I usually only go during the week. Ha ha. I was so anxious to go that I just put on my old brown jacket over my pajamas and left the house. My mom let me drive this time, with her in the passengers seat, of coarse (I don't have my license yet, I waited a few months before I got my permit).

I wove through the traffic twice as long as it would have taken if I went on a weekday until we finally reached the library. I vainly attempted to find a parking spot in front, and when I failed, I had to make an ugly U-Turn to get into the back parking lot. We kind of/sort of jogged into the building, we got there so early that it was still a little dark outside. When we were inside, my mother and I split up. She preceded to go to the cooking books section while I pretended to go to the history aisle. After I made sure that she was gone by checking behind a bookcase, I trotted over to the information desk.

Sitting behind the semi circle of wood was some old man. I stood there for a second, waiting for him to notice me. He never did, apparently he read while on the job. I opened my mouth to speak but then closed it. I did that a few more times. I didn't want to bother him, and I was too shy to say a simple 'hi'. As I turned away to go back to my mom, the librarian finally spoke up.

"Did you want something, young lady?" The man had a weak voice, and he spoke barely above a whisper. I whirled back around and set my hands on the table separating us. I flashed him a small smile before I responded.

"Yes, I was just wondering if this hospital--I, I mean library," I let out an embarrassed breath and began to blush at my idiocy. "If, if it had--er, keeps records of the books that get checked out. Like a daily list, or something like that." I spit the words out quickly. My eyes were glued onto the floor, and I was trying to hide my red cheeks behind my messy brown hair. Stupid hair, it was too short to save me from humiliation.

The man probably thought I was retarded by now. Like full fledged mental deficiency. He didn't respond at first. Again. I was beginning to think he had some extremely slow reflexes. I cast my eyes up for a split second, wondering what the hell was taking him so long to reply. His thin lips resembled a horizontal line as his beady (yet freakishly warm) eyes scanned a piece of paper. Oh. He was checking the list. Duh. He began to highlight some lines, presumably the information from yesterday. I hadn't realized that I was resting my chin on the desk as he worked. I don't think he did, either. We stayed like that for a couple of minutes, just the sound of the yellow highlight running across the paper between us. It was eerily peaceful.I tried to look natural when I started searching for the librarian's name tag. It wasn't on the desk, nor anywhere on his shirt.

"So, aren't you a little too old to be playing detective?" I flashed my confused gaze up to him. What was he talking about...? Unless! Did he know that I was looking for a certain person's information, not some books? I began to slightly panic.

_'Oh, shit. Oh, shit. No_,' I mind-hyperventilated.

Instead of passing out on the floor, I just cocked my head to the side and widened my blue orbs a bit. I hoped to look innocent and clueless to what he was talking about, but I think I resembled a fish out of water.  
"What?

"You're the third person today who's come up to me and asked for information about yesterday's records. The first who hasn't been a cop. Why are you interested in the Joker's personal life?" The man's voice had an accusing edge to it. A new wave of pink spilled across my face. Do I just spill the beans and tell him that I was...stalking...I mean, curious to see what kind of literature attracted the Joker? No, it's okay, I don't think so.

"Who, him? Oh, no. No, no, no way, Jose. He was here? Interesting. I wanted to find this book I read a while back, but I forgot the name of it, so I thought that if I saw a...random...list of books, then it could jog my memory," I blabbered breathlessly. Wow, I am an awesome liar. Gold star for me! As I was about to go dig myself a hole that I could crawl in, I noticed that he stopped highlighting the paper. Maybe he was changing his mind on giving me the list.

I should've taken the paper when I had the chance and made a run for it. I stared at the piece of white paper sitting in his wrinkly hands and wondered how strong he was at his age. I could use my youthful speed to quickly grab the item out of his grasp. But then I decided that that would be way too bitchy to actually do. Shifting my gaze up to his face, my innocent stare became a hard glare. His lips were once again pursed, as if contemplating about whether or not he was going to give me the damn list.

_'Shit. Fuck you, old man._'

His eyes were glazed over in a thoughtful trance. Switching my stare from him to the list, I slowly started to reach across the table toward the parchment. He seemed not to notice. Look, I don't steal very often, actually I might have never stolen something of this...value before. But this very well could've been the last chance that I ever had of getting to know that cool kid Joker. Ha, was I wrong. I was concentrating so hard on trying to ease that piece of paper out of his hands, tongue sticking out in a retarded manner, I might add, I didn't notice him, well, noticing me. Just as I was about to take it from him, he snatched the paper away from my grasping hands. I'm not sure if I cussed under my breath or just made a weird face, but that dude was staring at me like I was on meds.

"Can I have the list, _please_?" I asked him through gritted teeth. I held out my right arm and waited. All that bitch did was shake his head.

"I'm sorry, but...I don't trust you. There's no need for you to get yourself involved with his world. I'm just warning you about him, you'll see, one day you'll be thankful for what I'm doing for you." The ass hole gave me a small smile that I wanted to literally punch of his face.

I. Was. Fuming. Now, I don't usually lose my temper, expecially in public, but, man, this guy was just _asking_ for it. My eyes turned to slits as I clenched my teeth and balled my hands into fists. Ah, crap. I'm gonna lose it! Just breath, just breath. 1 2 3 4 5 6...fuck that.

"Listen, you nameless piece of meat, hand me over the list and I won't go ninja on your ass," I angrily whispered at him. My eyes were starting to water by how pissed off I was. I don't think I've ever been as angry as I was then. And do you know what me did? Do you want to _know_ what _he_ did?! He smirked. He smirked at me! He was amused by my actions. That sent me over the top.

"Okay, do. _Not_. Tell me what to do. Ever! I will _never _ever ever everrrr be thankful to you! You have no idea what the _fuck _you're talking about!" Actually, I had no idea what the fuck I was talking about. I was rambling like never before. I was screaming my head off at a 91 year old man in a library. And I didn't care. I was beyond being reasoned to. I was beyond being controlled for this _one_ moment in my life. And I liked it. So I continued.

"You think you're so wise and all knowing just because you're older than dirt. How the hell do you know what's right for me. You go and stay a coward, sit behind that desk until you wilt away like the pages of your stupid book! I bet you never actually ever _lived_ a day in your life. You're so pathetic. You stay...you stay that way forever, but don't you _dare_ try to take me down with you!" Whoa. This tantrum took a right turn. Where was all this coming from? By now, I was shaking so bad that I had to hold on the table for dear life. My voice seemed to be shaking more, though. Colors blurred together as the tears began to spill. I think I was causing a scene.

I faintly heard my name being called somewhere other than here, so I ignored it. I'm not an expert doctor or anything, but I think that what I just did what not an ordinary bitch fight. My mind was becoming foggy and my legs were numb. I wasn't sure if I was standing anymore or not. Then I heard a _loud _voice yelling at me. At first, I couldn't unjumble the words, but the man kept on repeating it.

"Ma'am, step away from the desk. Step away...step away..."

Why did he have to be so loud? Shuddap. Shuddap. Shut. _Up_. My head hurt, but I think that always happens after someone cries hard for a longtime. By now, I couldn't see shit. What the hell was happening to me? The annoying guy continued to tell me to step away from the desk.

_'You ass hole, I can't even see it. I can't find my legs, much less make them move.'_

I opened my mouth to tell him that, but it hurt. So. Much. I immediately closed it and just sat there until a pair or strong hands picked me up by my arms. I didn't thrash. I didn't even so much as shake my head no in a silent protest. I heard my name being called again. It was closer now. I didn't even have to open my eyes to see who it was.

"Abi! Abi, oh, my god, Abigael!" My mother shouted as she tried to push past the ever growing crowd watching my nervous breakdown. "Excuse me, sorry, _move_ it!" I imagined her side stepping the random people and then finally getting pissed enough to start shoving them aside. Go mom.

By now, I had stopped crying and I was as calm as a clam. My mind and body were exhausted, though. I then realized that I was being carried off in the arms of a _huge _black bodyguard. I made a confused face, I didn't remember being picked up at any moment. Buuut, what do I know? I was too busy snapping. I rolled my head over and saw my mom speed walking beside the man, trying to keep up with his long strides. I pang of guilt zapped through me when I saw the look of pain and worry in her face.

"Sorry..." I grumbled to her. Dude, did they drug me or something? I sounded like I just had 3 bottles of Moonshine. _I _barely heard what I just said, much less her. But she did, she looked over at me and gave a supportive smile that said "It's okay, you dumb ass, every thing's alright. I'm here to clean us this fuck-shit of a mess, my little retarded girl." I let out a scratchy breath that I meant to be a laugh, my throat was still raw. I mentally promised her that I would never disappoint her like that ever again. And I kept that promise...for about a minute.

Because when we were dropped outside, I knew that there was no way that I could keep it when I saw him.

----------------------  
**AN: Oh, and I am definitely a newwwwb here on . Well, I've surfed it a lot more than any human being should but I just joined like 2 days ago. And I only did that because I wanted to put this story up. I hail from Quizilla!.com, a rapidly dying website for writers, so when I'm less busy with this story I'll transfer my other crap over. And I'm sorry for the mix up (when I accidentally posted a part of this chapter a day ago), I'm still not totally sure as to what to do here YET. I also apologize for this ridiculously long and boring Author's Note. Aaaand for not including the Joker in this chapter. I had planned to, but then I got carried away with Abi's, um, mental breakdown. No, she's not crazy now, she was just really stressed. Sheesh.**


	3. Perrrfectah

**A/N: Ahem. Howdy Doo? I am so sorry if this chapter came out later than any of you wanted. I've been busy trying to crame some last minutes of freedom into my winter break, school's almost here. Dun dun dunnnnn... It's time for more singling out of people who review and...do other stuff to my story! Dun dun dunnn... I'll stop that now XD  
Thank you to: Dyanasty Artemis (again! =D), BunnyinWonderland4, ber1719 (again! :D), pj, flame-dragon2, and The Clown Prince of Crime for reviewingchapter dos. That's six human beings that really like making me happy.  
Another batch of 'thank yous' go out to: Frosted-Popsicle, ber1719, and TetrisLOVE for favoriting my story.  
Thanks to the following people for putting my story on their story alerts: Dyanasty Artemis, The Clown Prince of Crime, crzybookluvrchick4017, norma renata, flame-dragon2, and DefyGravityCC.  
This is just a warning to anybody reading this: this story is not be some fast paced love story with sex in the next chapter. I don't plan on bashingthis stories head open with that. Some people like that so just watch out if you find yourself getting impatient at the lack of intimacy. I mean, are you freal? Joker? And new girl? Beating it up? Immediately? Hell no. Oh, and this will not be the typical "i'm the jokers hostage and i hate him but i really love him!!11one!111one1!1one!!!1" fic. Actually, that won't ever happen in the story. I'm telling you this now: Abiis not, I repeat NOT, gonna be a hostage or sidekick or whatever sue-filled thing is it. I really hope my character isn't a Sue. Tell me if she is, so I can immediately terminate that part of her. kthxxi.  
Oh, and if you've read this whole thing: you're a truely kind person.**

The body guard gently put me down on the pavement. I concentrated on breathing evenly, the clear morning air seemed to clear my head a bit. I looked up to my 'savior'.

"Thanks. You know, you really should consider a career in the superhero field." I smiled at him in thanks.

He grunted. "Let's leave that to Batman." Oh. Him. No, I thought he was cool and nice for saving people. I've never personally been rescued by the dark knight, so I hold no grudge against him. But that also means that I don't owe him anything, either. I've been hearing rumors that the infamous protector of Gotham actually didn't kill those people a couple of months back. But those are just rumors. I nodded anyway in response.  
"Stay safe. Try not to go crazy again." I was about to comment and tell him that I didn't go crazy, that it was just...too stuffy in there, but I saw his light smile that told me he was playing around.

"I can't guarantee it, Sir." I attempted to sound and look serious when I said this. He let out a hearty laugh, nodded to my mother and went back inside. I was starting to feel much--Oh, shit. My mom. I slowly turned my head to the right just as she began yelling at me. She was happy that I was fine, of coarse, but she was angry. Why would I embarrass her in public like that?

"Abigael," I flinched when she said my full name, "You...you..." She seemed lost for words. I couldn't blame her. She knelt beside me on the sidewalk and gave me a tight hug. While she was doing so, it seemed as if all her anger at me evaporated. Ha. "What happened?" She asked me in a half worried half annoyed voice.

"Nothing..." I muttered. I honestly could barely even recall half the things that happened in the last 5 minutes of my life.

"Abi," her tone became stern again. So much for getting off the hook. "Why were you acting like that? I could hear you yelling from the other side of the library! And then that whole crowd of people came..." She shook her head. I could tell that I more or less humiliated her.

"Aren't you worried if I'm okay?" I asked her, refusing to believe that all she cared about was her social status.

"Don't even start with that," she snapped at me. "How could you even ask a thing like that?" I shrugged, she continued. "Honey, you know I care deeply about you. So tell me, what happened?" Her green eyes (got my pale grey ones from daddy-o) stared at me expectantly. I shrugged once again.

"I...I really don't. I guess I was just pissed off at that old man for telling me how to run my life." My eyebrows furrowed together. That didn't sound like such a good explanation not that I think about it. She straightened up.

"What did he tell you to do?" Oh, crap, I forgot that I was supposed to be doingmy history project.

"N-nothing," I stammered. She rolled her eyes at me.

"We'll continue this conversation at home." Translation: I'm still mad at you. Groundage is upon me. "And _what_ are you wearing?" Looks like she finally noticed my orange unicorn pajamas that my grandma gave me for my last birthday. What, did you think that I would actually buy the nasty outfit myself? Well, I did wear them out to public so...  
I just grinned sheepishly at her. We started walking down the street to the back parking lot, it was entirely light outside so we were pretty slow.

That's when I first heard the screams. I turned around a second faster than my mom and I still think that's why I got the advantage. Then I saw him. Well, not _him_ him, he was surrounded by his goons. At least a dozen of those clown masked men walked tightly around him, serving as some human shield. A jolt went through my heart when I caught a glimpse of green hair. The screaming got louder as more people began to realize what I already knew. The Joker was just strolling along the walkways in the middle of the morning. Nothing unusual about that. Except for the fact that he had some kind of machine gun and was carelessly shooting at buildings and people as he continued on with his walk. His henchmen were shouting too, but they were giving out orders to the innocent pedestrians who were unlucky enough to go outside today.

My heart began to beat faster when I saw what direction they were walking in. Mine. For a brief second I think I became literally retarded because in that moment in time, I thought he was heading straight for me. Yeah, right, he didn't even know who I was. I turned around and saw where he was heading, the town square place where the police officers and all those people hold important meetings and such. I faintly noticed a slight tugging on my arms, I turned around and saw my mom fearfully trying to pull me away from the middle of the street. If my face had a look of awe on it, my mom's had one of terror. Our eyes were both wide in shock at what we were seeing. If she wasn't so scared, I would have laughed at her expression.

"Abigael, come _on_, now. Let's _go_," my mom urged me, tightly hugging my arm. I was barely listening to her. He was coming closer and closer, and my heart was beating faster by the second. I briefly wondered if it would altogether pop out of my chest. It was now or never, I mean, all I had to do was say hi or just wave my hand at him. Something that would make him acknowledge me. He didn't even have to respond, just look my way. So that I would know that he knew I was...I don't know, someone. That I was alive, that there was someone out there that didn't hate him or was disgusted by him. So I started walking his way.

I easily slipped out of my mothers sweaty grasp, leaving her angrily whispering for me to come back. I ignored her as I slowly made my way up the street. I felt numb, like I was there but _wasn't_, you know? What's it called...an out of body experience. It felt strange and comforting at the same time, the chaos and fear and _confusion _all around me while I was in my own little world, headingin the very direction everyone else was running from. As I neared the huge group of thugs/goons/henchmen...whatever, one of the men in front noticed a random little girl walking their way (AKA me). He had a bemused expression on his fugly face. He smiled.

"Hey, girly, wrong way. The party is _that _way." He called over to me, pointing to the large stage just yonder. Ha ha...yonder... I barely acknowledged him as I continued my little journey. The group and I were meeting in the middle of the road, beknownst to them. And then they were passing me, man after man continued marching un-orderly as I stopped and stared at them. There he was in full view. His lanky form was concealed beneath that large purple trench coat of his. And his face...his scars...they seemed to pop out in the light of the day. I only got a side shot of him but I could see his smile, his _real_ malicious smile, tugging at his scarred cheeks as he looked and saw the expressions of his victims' faces, as he heard the screams of fear and surprise, and as he shot down random souls to the ground. His eyes gleamed mischievously out of the black charcoal that surrounded them, darting every which way they could.

It was beautiful.

I just stared and stared and stared. By the time I had to finally blink because my contacts were starting to dry up, he had completely passed by me. My head shot to my right as I began to trot after him. Wow, even I had to admit, I was looking like a creepy stalker by now. My foggy senses were immediately cleared up when I heard a gun fired extremely close to me. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked down. There was a little bullet hole with cracks around it right in front of me. Some ass hole shot at me! My head shot up and I began glaring at anything I could get my eyes on. I realized that the man in the back of the little Joker parade still had his gun out. He sneered.

"Back up. You're getting too close for comfort." Well, of coarse _he _thought that, he probably hasn't been witha girl for months, with that crooked nose of his. That's when _he_ noticed the commotion--and me. _The _Joker looked directly at me. He had this slightly annoyed-slightly curious expression on his ragged face.

'_This is my chance! I just need to sum up every thing he means to me in a sentence--or even one word.' _So me, being the extremely cool kid and all around clever witted young women that I am, came up with this thought provoking statement (if you can even call it that):

I sneezed.

Hard. Loud. Messy.

I _think_ there was a booger stuck to my nose.

My eyes widened in the sheer stupidity of myself. Quite of few man chuckled. The Joker raised an eyebrow and with that, turned away from me and continued his game of marching and shooting buildings. I stood rooted in my place. I blew it. What "it" was, I'm not entirely certain. But nonetheless, I blew it--crushed it--ripped it apart so badly that I could almost see the little burnt pieces of my dream floating away into heaven--or hell, I'm not sure about that either.

Bye-bye. Nice knowing ya. I barely knew thee. Died just as it was beginning to grow. It's like aspiration abortion. I'm rambling. I ramble. Next thing I knew, my mom was all over me. Filled with tears and repeating "Oh, are you okay? Are you okay? Okay...?" Yep, I was fine. Just peachy. _Dandy. _It's just that I've never felt more humiliated, ashamed, stupid, worthless, ect., ect. (I could really just go on and on) then I do right now. No biggie. Toootally fine. God, I hate my life.

"What were you thinking!? Going off and...it looked like you were trying to talk to them. You were so near...and then, and then," she began to sob, her shoulders shaking and tears pouring down her tan face. "He shot at you! The Joker shot at my baby!" She began to wheeze and choke while she cried. I just looked helplessly at her. What was I supposed to do? Tell her that I was "sorry for trying to say hey to the Joker and accidentally getting shot at. Sorry"? Wait. Did she just say that the _Joker _pointed a gun at me? Ha! I wish, well, not really, but it would be a more honorable death than by one of his henchmen. I began to tell her that it wasn't him but was interrupted by sirens. And lots of them.

I looked behind me and saw a shitload of police cars, red sirens on full blast, speeding down the road. Looks like they were informed of the Joker's latest stunt. I only wished to know what it was. My mom pushed me over to the sidewalk once more as they drove over to the "crime scene". By then, the Joker and his men reached the stage and began to set up for...something. I didn't know what they were doing, my peripheral vision was limited. The cops filed out of their cars and preceded to circle around the Joker's gang. Some of them started pushing the crowd back, telling them to calm down. Others went on dead civilian patrol. One of the police officers stepped up with a megaphone, I presumed this was the chief, and attempted to talk to the group of 'bad guys' on the podium.

"Stand down. Joker, we have you surrounded, give yourself up and we won't have to resort to shooting." I bet the middle aged man thought he was the shit right about now. Oooh, he stood up to _the Joker_. Congrats. I hope he knows that he's not gonna live another day. But it looked like the man of the hour wasn't even paying attention to the top cop. I started giggling, my mom glanced at me from the corner of her eye, she probably thought I hit my head at some point. When the Joker didn't respond, the officer brought the megaphone up to his lips once more. He began to speak again but was interrupted by a booming voice.

"Would you just_ zip it!?_" The Joker yelled out in a gruff, commandingvoice. It sent shivers down my spine. It carried out down the street, shutting absolutely everybody up. I saw the police man step back from his sudden burst. The Joker continued in a high pitched (for a dude) voice."I'm trying to set things up," he commented matter-of-factly. When nobody spoke he put a mocking smile on his face. "Thanks," he giggled.

I saw some people cautiously walking toward the podium. Hey, I shouldn't be left out of the fun. I left my mom for the second time that day and literally ran to the stage. The police were so stunned that people were actually getting near the Joker that they didn't react--or stop us--right away. A bunch of us had gathered at the feet of the Joker and his men, who were standing a few feet above us on the stage. He glanced over at us with a bemused expression and continued with what ever he was doing. He finally straightened up and walked to the center with a microphone. He cleared his throat longer than necessary, probably just to annoy the cops watching his with a helpless expression. He smiled wickedly.

"Ladiesss and gentle _men_, I don't wanna be a, uh, _burden_," he licked his lips and seemed to hold back a chuckle before he continued. "So I'll just get right to thaa poin-_t_." He scanned the crowd around him and then everyone else. His eyes hardened and so did his voice, he was being serious. "This _will-y _be _my-ah _city. Hate to, uh, _break _it to ya. So I've, uh, been thin-_k_ing about recruiting some hel_-p_-ah." He cracked a grin. "Don't-ah worry, I'm no_-t, _no-_t-_ah gonna dra-a-aft. It'll be _your choice."_ Something in his voice told me that it wouldn't be a good idea to decline the offer. His tone became light and hysterical again. "Hurry hurry, the clock is _tick-tocking-_ah." Did his tongue just dart out like a lizards? I could've sworn...

"Aren't you, uh, a little _young _to be joining the bad-ah side alreadyyy?"

My heart skipped a beat. I looked up and saw...that he wasn't talking to me. Phew? I turned to my right and saw _him _crouching in front of some dark haired teenage girl. Her seductive smile made me blush at her confidence. The girl had loadssss of make up on, including blood red lip stick and was covered from head to toe in black. I saw her lean into him and whisper something into his ears, she pulled back and giggled. What the fuck is this shit? She must like him too, maybe even...like like. Man, fuck her!

He stood up and announced to the crowd, "Okay, let's get this overrr with-ah. I've some plans that I'm just _dying _to get to-o-o." He winked, he winked!, at the goth girl at his feet. She must be feeling pretty good about herself right about now. I had to admit, I was kinda jealous. I actually have a knack for being pretty much invisible and able to blend in with the crowd, even when I didn't want it, which is pretty much never. "Now, uh, raise your hand if you want-ah be par-_t _of my...posse." He chuckled at his...joke? I'm not really sure what it was. He was using a, well, childish manner of getting information but it nonetheless worked. My hand rose along with about 20 or thirty others. Wow, I didn't know he was that popular.

"Perrr-fect-ah."

* * *

**I am sooo so so sooo SO sorry to any of the people who were reading this story before I deleted it. Yes, me being a dumb ass, deleted this story ACCIDENTALLY last night while I was doing damage control to my other story (that I also deleted...only on purpose). So I don't know if your story alerts will alert you guys on further chapters...I don't know, I'll probably just send you a PM explaining the situation. T.T I had 9 reviews! They're all gonnnnne. No worries, me being freaking obsession over my first reviews, will just mentally add 9 to my review count ^^' On the bright side...new people who are just staring to read it are probably thinking that I'm retarded/crazy for thanking 'imaginary' fans. Ha ha..**


	4. Job Interview

**A/N: DEAR GOD, I AM STUPID! I thought I published this chapter like a month ago. But apparently, it didn't upload. And this whole time I was under the impression that it was out for everyone to read. Sorry!!!!!!!!  
****BLEH. I apologize (I do that a lot) SO SO sooo so **_**so SO **sooo soo soooo SO _**much to all my watchers (haha...creepers XD) and subscribers and whatever else you guys are! It took me like fucking 2 months to finally publish this damn chapter! First of all, my idiotic lap top got a motherfucking virus that (still!) makes it super slow and makes it die randomly. Then, I got writers block (which I blame onto myself...who else?). Theeen, school got in the way for basically a whole month. Oh dear God I am so sorry to anyone who thought I gave up and/or died! For maybe some twisted type of forgiveness 'cookie', I tried to make this chapter action-y and story-bumper-y. ...What?  
Oh, and for anyone that wants to know: the story title was derived from Abi's (main character...?...I don't really know how to explain this) point of view. Hint HINT.**

The Joker glared down at us with a wicked grin painted on his face. Like a blur, he pulled out a gun from one of his many pockets and pointed it at the man next to me. My breath hitched in my throat while the guy started to shake uncontrollably. The crazy clown licked his lips.

"We're gonna do this the _right_ way. I can't just _hand_ out job silly-willy, you're gonna have to earn them. So we're gonna have...job interviews. You're u-_p_." He sadistically called to the cowering man next to me. "Quick, answer me: why should I let you see another moment of your patheti_-c_ little life?"

My brain immediately started planning for this question. I'm young, I have a lot to give to the future...all that normal bullshit. The interviewee's body started to shake from him stuttering so badly. "I-I-I--" He was cut off by a bullet to his head. The Joker looked angry. Why the hell was _he _pissed? He should be ecstatic right now; torturing people like this.

"Fail." The gun turned to me. "Girly. What use are you for me? What can you, uh, _bring_ to the table?"

I blinked. My mouth ran on its on. I spoke so fast that I could barely understand what I was saying. "I'm small, so I can fit through tight spots that most grown man can't. And I'm quick, I was on the track team last year. I'm pretty good with numbers so I can, I dunno, count all the money you jack. And I...have a young mind that you can easily corrupt...?" I stopped breathing. I couldn't look into his dark eyes so I settled for his tinted green hair. If it looked that dirty from down here-- I wondered when was the last time he washed it..?

He smirked. He contemplated my answer for a second, he swished the taste of my life in his scarred mouth. A grin broke across his ghost-white face. "Pass-ah." He continued with the man on my right. I passed, I survived, I'm alive. I noticed my chest rising and falling rapidly, and realized that my heart was thumping a mile a minute. Now _this_ was the kind of rush I was looking for. That moment was so exhilarating, I was borderline high right now. The adrenaline rushed through my veins like a waterfall. My breathing came fast and hard, my head became light and dizzying. But I was perfectly happy. I looked up at him, my new boss. The most entertaining person in this whole city, maybe even the world. I smiled, I couldn't help it. I hadn't been this delighted in, well, ever.

Another gunshot pulled me back out of my dream-like state. I had to get used to that. Ha, yeah right. I jump at the slightest noise (while emitting an embarrassingly high pitched squeak, I might add), and now I had to teach myself to not cringe at exploding bullets? Good luck to me. I looked over my shoulder to see how many of us there were left. Not many. My stomach churned when I saw the gory were puddles of dark red blood every other person or so and to be completely truthful, it smelled up in that bitch. Another thing that I was going to have to get used to. I'm not a..uh, veryclean girl, I take showers every other day and I'm usually too lazy to even brush my hair, much less straighten and perm it and whatever else teenage girls do these days. Nah, I rock it out au naturale, frizziness and all. 'Sides, hair gets all crunchy and nasty when you put too much shit in it. 'Da Man' as I internally nicknamed the already moniker stamped clown (though I will never _ever_ say it out loud, if not only to...live) clapped his hands together to attain out attention.

The Joker sneered, "Now we just need to esss-capah." He looked at the remainder of us, a powerful glint in his eyes. He bellowed out, "Everyone. On stage. Now!"

I scrambled along with the other candidates up the podium, being kicked in the face several times while doing so. When I finally got up there I glanced over at the others. Most of them were men that looked like they were about to jizz in their pants from all the excitement, but there were a few girls like me up there too, well, they were basically women. Except for that girl that was flirting with the Joker earlier, she had more or less attached herself onto his arm. I leaned forward to get a better look at them since I was about 5 feet away. A hand roughly grabbed the hood of my jacket and yanked me back in line. I turned around to see the motherfucker who thought that doing that was a good idea but immediately spun back around when I saw the fucking giant of a man glaring down at me. First minute on the job and I was already suffering neck pains and bruises. Yay.

Me being the super stealthy stalker that I am, returned to oggling at the Joker and the...leach. God, she was pissing me off. First of all, she was hot, so she just totally brought up my self esteem, yeah! And it looked like the Joker was actually enjoying her attention. Which is a God given miracle on both accounts of her still being alive and him being happy with her.

'_What the hell...? Maybe I should dry hump him like she's doing and see where it gets me_,' I thought bitterly. My left eye presumptuously twitched. _'On second thought...not a very bright idea_.'

Then the Joker did that I didn't expect, much less the bimbo on his arm. He pulled out a simple revolver--well, I _think_it was a revolver, I'm not into guns and the types and terminology, but it looked like one I Googled once. I just plain hate hunting. Fuck the animal killers. People killers are okay in my book, though. Obviously--and put it to his now-hostage 'girlfriends' head. She tensed at first but quickly concluded that this was _all apart of the plan. _I had no idea what plan she might have been thinking of, but if she was such a Joker lover, then she would've known that he didn't make plans. Everything he does is so...spontaneous and impulsive that there is not a person alive who can predict what he will do at any moment. That's just one of the many things that draws me to him. He is so unordinary and extemporaneous, he just interests me in a way that no other person or event or thing ever has. But not in the 'oh, I want to study and analyze him' type of way. ...No, the curious way. Maybe. I think.

The hostage chick faltered a wiry smile and tried to get comfortable in the Jokers arms. Did they make some kind of escape plan together? This though made me grimace and look away from the two. Like a child with a T.V. in front of them, I immediately turned my attention back to them. It's like I couldn't look away from him longer than 2 seconds. Damn. I felt like a full blown creeper. The Joker flicked his tongue out onto his cherry lips and cocked his head toward the girls badly dyed raven black hair.

"Ah, ta ta taa," he taunted the police officers in a childish tone. He shook his revolver (Pistol...? Simple handgun...? What the fuck was it?!) back and forth like a parent scolding a young kid. "Don't come any closer or the, uh, _pretty girl_ gets it." He started fucking giggling like a school girl at his pun. He pressed the tip of the gun to her temple for emphasis on his treat.

The cops seemed to shy away from the stage for a second. The main one brought the megaphone up to his lips. "Now now, Joker, you don't want to do that," the man mockingly told him. He was acting like this was just some ordinary hostage situation. What an annoying bitch-man. I hope the Joker shoots him in the face. "Just release the girl and we can look the other way as you leave." Was he implying that he would just let the Joker run free?

'_Wow, way ta do your job!' _I mean, _of coarse_ I wanted him to not get shot at or go to the asylum, but _man, _he has the whole city rapped around his thin fingers if he can make the police be afraid of him enough to 'let him off the hook'.

The ever-so-in control Joker shifted his weight onto his left leg and theatrically yawned. One of his eyebrows rose in a sarcastic way. "I'm waiting." The girl was starting to get obviously uncomfortable. I heard her whisper to him that the gun was hurting her and to be a little gentle. All was quiet for a few moments in the street. The serenity was disturbed by his booming voice ringing through the square.

"If you now work for me and wish to keep your mundane lives. Get. In. The. Bus." At that moment, a yellow school bus crashed its way behind the podium and into the street. I lost my balance and wobbled on one foot to try to _not _fall on my ass, thank you very much. When the Joker wants something done, he wants it literally at that moment. Hm, he's a patient fellow. I swung my head in his direction to see if it was time to escape, but instead of getting a glimpse of my new boss, I got a face-full of someones damn elbow.

_'Goddamn morons and their flying weenises!_' I angrily thought to myself as I checked my nose to see if it was broken. When I retracted my hand from swiping across my nostrils, I saw that it was covered in my still-warm blood. I looked up from my blood stained hand and froze, astonished to see a chaotic frenzy below and around me. My fellow...co-workers were scurrying in a mad dash for the big bus. The innocent townspeople were even worse. They began randomly running about the street, belting out erratic yelps and screams. I paused for a moment and just observed the cluster-fuck that surrounded me. I held onto my wounded nose and let the noise envelope me, my mouth hanging open in awe at the scene before me. Never have I ever seen this much dysfunction in such a close space and _me witnessing it all in the flesh. _

It. Was. Beautiful. Sort of. Not really. My body automatically went in "Follow the crowd! Don't get noticed!" mode and dove into the sea of hot, sweaty bodies that mostly likely hadn't seen a gym in years. Entering the back of the bus last, I scanned the rows of seats and found to my disappointment that the Joker wasn't even in there. The large vehicle demonstrated its ancient age by letting out a rusty creak as I poked my head though the back emergency exit. Still on the stage stood the Joker and his accomplice. She looked more nervous than ever as she awkwardly wiggled in the tall man's grasp, the gun evermore on her tan temple. I saw her gulp and heard her ask him,

"When can we leave, baby?" She continued to focus her gaze on the panicking crowd. From the corner of my eye, I saw a middle aged women crying hysterically with one arm outstretched toward the Joker and his captive. It didn't take me long to put two and two together, I turned my head away in shame from the girls mother. She reminded me of my own mom, somewhere in the mob, worried about where I had gone to. I could imagine her repeating my name, using the full correct "Abigael", her voice being outweighed by the shrill cries coming from every other person next to her.

The gunshot fired as I searched for my mother in the mass of people. All went silent in the town square, possibly even the whole city. The loud _bang! _that erupted from the revovler/pistol/killing-thingy reverberated through the walk way, bounced off the building walls, and shuddered past the silent witnesses. My neck just about acquired whiplash from the force and speed of my head turning once again to the podium. My small light blue eyes followed the falling body as it descended out of the Jokers arms. The girl lay dead in front of him with her brain staining the shiny new wood of the stage.

I silently expressed my disgust as the citizens began to react to the horrifying sight before them.

I saw him adjust his purple tie and growl out, "Now." He walked off the podium without another word. As he came closer to the bus, my mind went into overdrive to try to wrap around the scene that happened right in front of me. The Joker just killed her? His little girlfriend? SCORE! And here I was getting jealous as fuck at their...relationship. I made a quick mental note to myself: never go near the Joker unless he needs me. I'm never going to 'come on to him' unless I have a death wish. I don't really feel like ending up a stain on the carpet, if you don't mind.

I scrambled into the bus seconds before he hopped in. I sat in the very last row, next to some muscle man with no neck. My body stiffened when I noticed who sat in the seat across the aisle from me. I shyly dipped my head down, trying to cover my face with my hair. Once again, to no avail; I really need to grow my hair out. I risked a side glance at him and was horrified that he was _plainly staring _at me and licking his lips. This lasted only a moment though because his eyes continued scanning the rest of his goons. My adrealine rush has started to succumb now.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves and gave myself a small smile. For the truth was...I now worked for Gothams very own crazy criminal mastermind. I sincerly hoped life would be more exciting now.


End file.
